Taking advantage of me?

[playfelt]

On the provider's end there may be a very good reason for some of what she has put in her contract and yes if it is written there then she can enforce it although it does sound like there are some ambiguous days she just takes if she wants to. For things like Mother's and Father's days they are technically the Sunday so if her or hubby's parents live out of town then they may very well need to take a personal day on the Monday to travel to visit them all but an explanation at the time of signing since it is an unusal thing would have been nice. Can not understand the US holidays unless they live close enough to the border to take advantage of holiday shopping specials and actually travel to the US for their holiday days - or again one of them is American and not Canadian and they celebrate everything. But again an explanation would have been nice.

While she is in her right to put whatever she wants in her contract. You are also in your right to choose to terminate the contract - with proper notice and to find someone with a vacation package that better fits with your schedule of days off.

[mamabear]

I would also never negotiate my contract. It is the parent's responsibility to ask questions BEFORE it is signed. They don't have to sign it if there are issues they don't agree with. I close CDN stats and give at least 30 days notice for holidays any other day I wish to not open. Barring unforeseen emergencies course. I also never ASK a parent if it's okay that I close.

That being said however, I do agree that OP's provider is taking advantage and her contract leaves too much for interpretation.

[Momof4]

All of the daycare providers on this site agree that this parent has been wronged. This woman's contract is ridiculous. Darasmommy needs to stop stirring the pot.

[Crayola kiddies]

Yup darrasmommy you hit the nail on the head ..... I have the greatest job ..... The kids run around aimlessly all day while I sit on the couch counting my money and thinking up new ways to put the screws to the parents. Muahhahahaha !
<eyeroll>.
Someone please tell darrasmommy to take her meds

[Crayola kiddies]

Ah just gettin your goat darrasmommy !!!!

I rarely have a problem cause I have a contract and I stick to it and it is clearly set out in plain English for all to read. I like to come on here to give advise to those who do have issues, maybe my advise helps maybe it doesn't. I certainly don't bad mouth my daycare families because you never know who's on here.
But basically it boils down to I love my job, I love my commute, and my boss rocks !!!! Cause I certainly wouldn't change other kids shitty diapers for a living if I didn't!

[treeholm]

I don't know of any disgruntled, bored, angry babysitters on this forum. There are intelligent, dedicated professional daycare providers and I have been blessed with their advice and knowledge. I chose this career when I retired from being a full-time university professor because I believe that I am making a difference in the lives of families. It is not easy, nor am I well paid. I make more money in one evening of teaching than I make in a week of daycare. And your attitude, darasmommy is disgusting. You clearly have not experienced the joy of having your child cared for by a professional, but coming on here to insult my colleagues is not the answer. You could have asked for help in finding a professional daycare provider, and been given the questions you should ask to make sure you aren't just hiring a "babysitter." Instead, you insult us. This is a place for caregivers to seek advice when dealing with problems, because when you are helping parents raise little ones, there are lots of challenges. The experienced daycare providers on this forum share their knowledge openly, and that is such a blessing. I'm sorry you are bitter, but you are taking it out on the wrong people. It's like getting a first-year dental student to pull your tooth, and then blasting all professional dentists for not knowing what they are doing....

[dodge__driver11]

I honestly rarely have that problem...Because I've learned to concentrate on the good things I have to offer...Though sometimes children's behavior gets in the way of my vision LOL

[Momof4]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not disgruntled or bored or angry and I'm also NOT a babysitter, how about you? I love being self-employed and I really care for my daycare kids and their parents are all pretty wonderful too. You know, this is really opening our own eyes to how wonderful we are and it's about time we all pat each other on the back for being dedicated to our profession and proud of what we do for a living.

[sunnydays]

Yes! Big pats to you and all of the other wonderful ladies on this site who give their all every day and make childrens' lives brighter I think the fact that we all spend time on this site learning from each other and trying to solve problems, shows that we are truly dedicated to what we do. Otherwise, why on Earth would I spend most of my break discussing daycare related issues? I could be watching soap operas instead, but I choose to be here and learning and helping others and becoming thebest caregiver I can possibly be

[squirrel]

I'm outside Vancouver but I have never heard of any other daycare provider with a contract like yours.

I have all stat Holidays (Canadian) and a week between Christmas and New Years off (3 days). I have now added another week in September for all the new contracts.

I'm paid monthly, the same amount each month. Many months have extra days in them and since I have never closed because I am sick I feel the amount of days I get off is fair.

I have also had a hard time finding someone to run the daycare when I go on holidays.